After 20 years in the military, Huntsville man living out his dream of being an author

David Brown, who works as a senior analyst for Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command, has written three science fiction books and has a fourth novel coming later this year. (Contributed photo)

Before he was a writer, David Brown was a reader.

At age 8, Brown's father introduced him to horror and
science fiction writer Stephen King and he was hooked immediately. Then, in
high school, the eastern Kentucky native realized his love of reading had
become an overwhelming desire to write, too. It turned out it was 20 years
before Brown could purse that love full time.

"I had wanted to write since high school but the military
thing came first," he said.

Brown, who goes by the pen name D.W. Brown, enrolled in the
Army, serving the next two decades in Cambodia, Kwajalein Atoll, Saudi Arabia,
Iraq and Afghanistan. During his time in
the service, he spent a tour at Redstone Arsenal before retiring out of Fort Campbell,
Ky. Brown said he and his wife loved the area and decided to come back to
Alabama to live full time. He took a job as a senior analyst for Army Aviation
and Missile Life Cycle Management Command and began pursuing his love of
writing in earnest.

Brown has published three novels and is working on a fourth.
The first two books, Lost Time and Barter for Life, deal with complex themes of
lost time and perception vs. reality.

The third novel, Unconscious Lies, is set in Huntsville and
the main character even stops by the Huntsville Times building to do some
research. The book also deals with themes of missing time, in this case a
patient who doesn't realize he's in a coma and later, how he reconciles what he
thought about his life compared to what seems to be the truth.

Brown said the stories have all come out of his experiences
and interests in science fiction.

"These are the type of stories I've carried around in my
head for years," he said.

His fourth book, Family Lineage, is planned for a September
release. It is a departure from his previous works and will include stories
inspired by his time in Cambodia's infamous killing fields.

The ultimate goal would be to write more horror fiction,
similar to those spooky King stories he read as a child.

"I really want to write horror. Eventually, that's what I
will go and do, but I don't want to write about vampires or zombies like so
many people are doing now. I want to write a combination of horror and science
fiction."

Brown's books are available at Amazon, Books a Million, Barnes and Noble and his website, dwbrownsbooks.com